Goodness! We didn’t mean to leave you hanging. We’ve been up to a lot since June 2011! It’s been a year of changes, with new faces joining our roster of singers while familiar faces took time off to pursue professional goals of their own. (See our About page for info on some of the singers we’ve worked with this past year.) With both Alane Marco and Erika Lloyd taking leave, our web presence has been fairly quiet of late. But we’re happy to announce that mezzo Kirsten Kane will be picking up the blogging mantle, and Alane Marco will once again help us out behind the scenes with occasional writing, marketing and design work.
Let’s bring you up to date! Off we go to Boston to fill you in on the Good Pennyworths’ second appearance at the Boston Early Music Festival… We know you’re dying to hear how it went! [More after the break...]
On Thursday, June 16, Garald, tenor Christopher Preston-Thompson, and sopranos Erika Lloyd and Tiffany Bizup loaded up the tour van and drove to Garald’s brother-in-law’s home (Albert & Karen D’Antonio) in Marlborough, CT, who hosted us Thursday night.
The following morning (Friday, June 17) we drove to Boston and performed in the beautiful Gordon Chapel at Old South Church at 1:30 pm. There we found a very knowledgable audience intent on listening to a new twist on the songs from Shakespeare. We enjoyed a lively discussion with concertgoers after the affair came to an end. We especially want to thank Dick Hoban, former Lute Society of America President, for graciously running the house for us.
After the concert, we walked to the Festival exhibition halls and explored the musical instruments on display from various instrument makers. While there, Christopher found himself drawn to the early harps; he collected brochures from harp makers. (Later on in the summer, he actually purchased one and took lessons with early harpist and singer Marcia Young!) Garald volunteered at the Lute Society table for a while and went for dinner with Dick Hoban and Catherine Liddell, a wonderful continuo player. Tiffany, Christopher and Erika left to explore Boston a little before meeting up with Garald for the evening’s drive back to Marlborough, CT.
We spent Saturday morning, June 18, relaxing again at Albert and Karen’s beautiful home and rehashing the concert. In the afternoon, we drove to the UConn campus in Storrs, and did an afternoon radio interview (see June 18 post) before driving to our next concert venue.
The highlight of the tour was singing in a restored historic house on the town green in Tolland, CT — the home of Arts of Tolland. The main room was spacious, tastefully adorned with art, and the acoustics were fabulous. (Next time we perform there, we’ll be sure to record!) The children and adults were on the edge of their seats as the words and music of Shakespeare floated through the hall. Afterwards, the Arts of Tolland people gave us a wonderful potluck dinner, followed by a luxurious evening of wine and fellowship at the homes of our two host families.
On Sunday, June 19, we drove to New Haven for our final concert at Trinity Lutheran Church on Orange Street. While Garald set up and tuned his instruments, the others went strolling for an hour around the Yale campus, taking in the architecture and atmosphere of the historic town. The audience at Trinity was small but welcoming. (It’s hard to get PR in New Haven in the summer!) After the concert, we packed up and headed back to New York City to dive back into our regular lives.
We send our heartfelt thanks to the venues, volunteers, friends (old and new) and family who made this tour possible.
Tags: Boston Early Music Festival, Early Music, Garald Farnham, Good Pennyworths, Good Pennyworths Tour, Lute Songs, New York NY, Renaissance Music, vocal ensemble, Vocal Quartet
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